Aligarh youths among five arrested for smuggling ganja

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The Times Of India20th October, 2019 04:09 IST

Agra: Government Railway Police (GRP) of Agra Cantt busted an Aligarh-based gang involved in contraband smuggling . The police team recovered 62.5 kg of ganja from the men, though the cartel kingpin is absconding.

The men were held on Friday night at Agra Cantt railway station, after they alighted from Samta Express in the afternoon and were waiting for their associates to arrive and help them smuggle the contraband in Aligarh via road.

The apprehended men were identified as Vikas and Akash Solanki Thakur of Aligarh and Lokesh Verma, Bhupinder and Monu Kumar of Hathras district. The accused were booked under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Speaking to TOI, sub-inspector Neeraj Kumar, who led the GRP team to nab the accused, claimed, “The gang was operating from Aligarh. The cartel kingpin Lokesh Rana is absconding. It was he who bought three air tickets for the gang members, who flew to Visakhapatnam from New Delhi and received the package of 62.5 kg ganja. Later, they travelled on reserved tickets of Delhi-bound Samta Express and alighted at Agra Cantt railway station on Friday afternoon.”

“The gang waited till night for their two associates who were supposed to escort them in Aligarh via road. As soon as they arrived at railway station, our team who had received a tip-off about the gang caught them with contraband. The total value of seized ganja was Rs 4 lakh and it was supposed to be distributed in Mathura, Agra, Aligarh and other neighbouring districts,” he said.

The officer added, “The gang members were paid Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 for a trip to smuggle the contraband. We are now searching for the gang’s Aligarh-based kingpin.”